Ricky Jacob

Campus Guidance System for International Conferences Based on OpenStreetMap

We present a web-based, multi-lingual, campus guidance system with emphasis on pedestrian navigation aimed at providing support for delegates attending International Conferences at the National University of Ireland Maynooth (NUIM) campus. A special campus guidance system could improve the logistics of the conference and potentially attract more delegates to the conference. The Cloudmade Web Map Lite API which uses OpenStreetMap has been used for creating this interface. The system generates shortest pedestrian paths using both outdoor pavements and indoor corridors between various buildings and points of interests (POI). For visual assistance in pedestrian navigation geotagged images are used along the path at certain points in the route, such as road intersections, when the user needs to get their orientation correct. The interface is currently available in both English and Chinese language.

Haptic-GIS: exploring the possibilities

Haptic technology, or haptics, is a tactile feedback technology that takes advantage of our sense of touch by applying forces, vibrations, and/or motions to the user through a device. Haptic enabled devices have recently gained much publicity in the computer games industry due to their ability to provide a more immersive experience. The use of haptic in the context of GIS and navigation assistance has not previously been considered. We present an overview of Haptic technologies and provide a commentary on how GIS and haptics may crossover and integrate. To demonstrate the potential of haptics for navigation assistance a simple case-study of using haptic feedback as a navigational assistant in pedestrian route planning software is presented. This case-study uses the OpenStreetMap(OSM) database and Cloudmade routing API.

Pedestrian navigation using the sense of touch

Abstract Haptics is a feedback technology that takes advantage of the human sense of touch by applying forces, vibrations, and/or motions to a haptic-enabled user device such as a mobile phone. Historically, human–computer interaction has been visual, data, or images on a screen. Haptic feedback can be an important modality in Mobile Location-Based Services like – knowledge discovery, pedestrian navigation and notification systems. In this paper we describe a methodology for the implementation of haptics in four distinct prototypes for pedestrian navigation. Prototypes are classified based on the user’s navigation guidance requirements, the user type (based on spatial skills), and overall system complexity. Here haptics is used to convey location, orientation, and distance information to users using pedestrian navigation applications. Initial user trials have elicited positive responses from the users who see benefit in being provided with a “heads up” approach to mobile navigation. We also tested the spatial ability of the user to navigate using haptics and landmark images based navigation. This was followed by a test of memory recall about the area. Users were able to successfully navigate from a given origin to a Destination Point without the use of a visual interface like a map. Results show the users of haptic feedback for navigation prepared better maps (better memory recall) of the region as compared to the users of landmark images based navigation.

Haptic Feedback for Passengers Using Public Transport

People using public transport systems need two kinds of basic information - (1) when, where and which bus/train to board, and (2) when to exit the vehicle. In this paper we propose a system that helps the user know his/her stop is nearing. The main objective of our system is to overcome the ’neck down’ approach of any visual interface which requires the user to look into the mobile screen for alerts. Haptic feedback is becoming a popular feedback mode for navigation and routing applications. Here we discuss the integration of haptics into public transport systems. Our system provides information about time and distance to the destination bus stop and uses haptic feedback in the form of the vibration alarm present in the phone to alert the user when the desired stop is being approached. The key outcome of this research is haptics being an effective alternative to provide feedback for public transport users.

A PostGIS-based pedestrian way finding module using OpenStreetMap data

Open source GIS (OSG) is a fast developing field. When OSG is combined with Web2.0 and Service Orientated Architectures (SOA) technologies and more applications of Public Participation GIS, it has many advantages over commercial GIS software. Despite this, OSG still needs more improvement in terms of stability and functional integrity. In order to build more robust, more practical, and more functional LBS applications, this research investigates pedestrian-orientated wayfinding, with special requirements as its study topic. We describe some Web 2.0 routing APIs which can be easily used to provide general shortest path planning. However, these APIs cannot provide guidance services for specific user groups with special requirements, such as tourists in small towns. We take Maynooth as case-study. Maynooth is the only University town in Ireland with a population of approximately 20,000. This research uses OpenStreetMap (OSM) as spatial data source. OSM contains very spatially rich dataset. It is stored and managed in PostGIS/PostgreSQL. Through previous work on LBS applications using the CloudMade Routing API and OSM data, we present a Java-based wayfinding module implementing a restricted area version of Dijkstra algorithm. A set of native PostGIS spatial functions are used to improve performance of the routing algorithm. Results from our wayfinding algorithm are presented and compared with those obtained by using the CloudMade Routing API. Our results are promising and show that this special version of Dijkstra algorithm can take advantage of the spatial data stored in OSM. This work provides a base to build more effective pedestrian wayfinding algorithms which can be implemented in open source software and open APIs. This approach provides a feasible and economical LBS solution for small towns, villages and tourism regions outside larger cities.

What’s up that Street? Exploring Streets Using a Haptic GeoWand

In this paper we describe a Location-based Service (LBS) ‘point to query’ system called Haptic GeoWand where we use the orientation of the user to retrieve information for that user along a given street. Haptic GeoWand provides the user with location, orientation, and distance information using varying vibration patterns. This helps to reduce the visual mobile interaction required from the user. With the textual description of query results we use the vibration alarm to provide haptic feedback to the user about the availability and distance to their desired points of interests (POI) along a particular path or street. To test the usability of Haptic GeoWand we developed two mobile prototypes – whereHaptics and whichHaptics. The distance to Point of Interest (POI) information is provided by the whereHaptics which uses vibration feedback of varying frequency to represent distance to the POI. The whichHaptics uses vibration alarms of varying frequency to deliver information about the density of features along a particular street. With our system we demonstrate that the user can point and query the availability of POI along the street which are not directly visible to them but are along the path he/she intends to take. After selecting a POI, the user can follow this route without increased cognitive burden of interaction with the mobile interface. The user is not required to constantly look at the mobile screen. Haptics has proven to be powerful notification technique used to convey quantitative information. To test the system we integrated this with OpenStreetMap as the spatial data source.

Modeling Passenger-Flow in Real-Time Bus Tracking System

Transit networks in the real world are similar to data transfer across a computer network. In this paper, we present the similarity and differences between computer networks and transit networks. We have developed a passenger-flow simulation model and we tested the effects of transit services provided on passengers in term of delay and passenger quality of service. We present the passengers behavior at bus stops, factors that affect passengers interactions with buses, and the performance of buses. The objective of this research is to provide operators with improved metrics and better tools to manage the public transit network. In this paper, the overall transit network performance has been evaluated and summarized.